Battle of Cape St. George
operating in the Solomon Islands around 1943. |partof = the Pacific Theater of World War II |date = 25 November 1943 |place = Near Buka Island, north of Bougainville |result = U.S. victory |combatant1 = |combatant2 = |commander1 = Arleigh Burke |commander2 = Kiyoto Kagawa† |strength1 = 5 destroyers |strength2 = 5 destroyers |casualties1 = None |casualties2 = 3 destroyers sunk, 647 killedMorison, Breaking the Bismarcks, p. 353, & Nevitt, Combinedfleet.com. Nevitt says 228 were lost on Onami and 200 on Makinami and, along with Morison, says that there were 278 survivors from Yugiri. Morison says there were 300 troops on Yugiri, which along with a normal complement of 197 means about 497 were on board during this engagement. Subtracting 278 from 497 equals 219 killed on Yugiri. }} The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island (now part of the North Solomons Province in Papua New Guinea). It was the last engagement of surface ships in the Solomon Islands campaign. Background Americans had landed troops on Bougainville on 1 November 1943. This posed a threat to the Japanese base on Buka Island to the north, and 900 Japanese Army troops were loaded on the destroyer-transports , and and were sent, escorted by the destroyers and under the command of Captain Kiyoto Kagawa, to reinforce the garrison. The United States Navy learned of the convoy and sent the five ''Fletcher''-class destroyers , , , , and —under the command of Captain Arleigh Burke—to intercept it. Battle The Japanese destroyers landed the 900 troops and supplies, embarked an equivalent number of Navy personnel (that the Army troops replaced), and were returning to Rabaul when at about 01:40 they were spotted on radar by the U.S. warships. Superior radar allowed the American ships to approach and launch their torpedoes at about 01:55 before the Japanese sighted them. Onami was hit by several torpedoes and sank immediately. Makinami was hit by one torpedo, disabled, and then sunk by gunfire. The transport destroyers fled in different directions; Burke pursued Yuguri and after a long stern chase sank her about 03:00; Uzuki was also hit but escaped with severe damage.Tuohy, William. (2007). America's Fighting Admirals. Zenith Press: St. Paul, MN. Aftermath The battle marked the end of the Tokyo Express and the end of Japanese resistance in the Solomon Islands, and the success of Allied efforts to achieve superiority in night combat using radar. There were no more surface engagements in the Pacific War until the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign began with the invasion of Saipan in June 1944. Namesake The U.S. Navy ''Ticonderoga''-class guided-missile cruiser , in commission since 1993, was named for this battle. See also * Destroyer Squadron 23 Notes References * * * * * * * * * * * External links * * *Description by Vincent O'Hara *Order of battle *WW2DB: Solomons Campaign Category:Conflicts in 1943 Cape St. George Category:Autonomous Region of Bougainville Category:1943 in Papua New Guinea Cap Cap Cap